Table 2. Description of 11 case-patients with postmortem diagnosis of invasive meningococcal disease included in a national register for molecular surveillance of invasive bacterial disease, Italy, 2007–2014*.
| Patient no. |
Sex |
Age at death |
Preexisting disease |
Cause of missing or incorrect diagnosis |
First diagnosis of cause of death |
Culture result |
rPCR result† |
Serogroup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | 20 y | None | Died before being admitted to hospital | Sudden death | Not performed | Positive | B |
| 2 | M | 5 mo | None | Died before being admitted to hospital | SIDS | Not performed | Positive | C |
| 3 | M | 17 y | None | Misdiagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia | Acute myeloid leukemia | Negative | Positive | C |
| 4 | F | 5 mo | None | Died before being admitted to hospital | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | B |
| 5 | M | 6 y | None | Died <1 h after hospital admission | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | Y |
| 6 | F | 11 mo | None | Died before being admitted to hospital | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | C |
| 7 | M | 4 y | None | Died before being admitted to hospital | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | B |
| 8 | M | 15 y | Previous meningitis at age 5 y | Negative culture-based tests | Sepsis | Negative | Positive | Y |
| 9 | M | 20 y | Diabetes type I | Negative culture-based tests | Sepsis | Negative | Positive | C |
| 10 | M | 13 y | None | Died at hospital admission | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | C |
| 11 | M | 6 y | None | Died at hospital admission | Sepsis | Not performed | Positive | B |
*SIDSs, sudden infant death syndrome; rPCR, real-time PCR. †Of ctrA gene of Neisseria meningitidis.